Tube picking mechanisms with an ultra-low temperature or cryogenic picking compartment
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
G01N-021/00
F25D-013/06
F25D-013/04
G01N-001/42
G01N-035/00
F25D-011/04
F25D-025/04
출원번호
US-0193838
(2011-07-29)
등록번호
US-9163869
(2015-10-20)
발명자
/ 주소
Warhurst, Julian
Zandi, Bruce
Carbone, Alexander
Hunt, Frank
Cloutier, Robert
O'Toole, James
Alexander, Elizabeth
출원인 / 주소
Hamilton Storage Technologies, Inc.
대리인 / 주소
Andrus Intellectual Property Law, LLP
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
0인용 특허 :
31
초록▼
A tube picking mechanism is designed for use in an automated, ultra-low temperature (e.g. −80° C. or −135° C.) or cryogenic (e.g., about −140° C. to −196° C.) storage and retrieval system that stores biological or chemical samples. The samples are contained in storage tubes held in SBS footprint sto
A tube picking mechanism is designed for use in an automated, ultra-low temperature (e.g. −80° C. or −135° C.) or cryogenic (e.g., about −140° C. to −196° C.) storage and retrieval system that stores biological or chemical samples. The samples are contained in storage tubes held in SBS footprint storage racks that are normally stored within an ultra-low temperature or cryogenic freezer compartment. The tube picking mechanism includes a tube picking chamber that is maintained at about −80° C., about −135° C. or at cryogenic temperatures in cryogenic applications. Active electrical and mechanical components are maintained in a compartment above and separate from the refrigerated, ultra-low temperature or cryogenic compartment. Thermal stratification inhibits heat transfer into the lower, ultra-low temperature or cryogenic compartment in which tube picking occurs from the upper compartment in which active electrical and mechanical components are located, and also inhibits heat transfer into the lower, ultra-low temperature or cryogenic compartment via an access door for tube storage racks.
대표청구항▼
1. A tube picking mechanism comprising: a refrigerated chamber containing a lower compartment refrigerated to a temperature of between −50° C. and −196° C. when the tube picking mechanism is in operation;an upper compartment having a temperature warmer than the temperature of the lower compartment w
1. A tube picking mechanism comprising: a refrigerated chamber containing a lower compartment refrigerated to a temperature of between −50° C. and −196° C. when the tube picking mechanism is in operation;an upper compartment having a temperature warmer than the temperature of the lower compartment when the tube picking mechanism is in operation, a bottom portion of the upper compartment being adjacent to a top portion of the lower compartment;a picker plate located in the refrigerated lower compartment for holding at least one tube storage rack containing sample storage tubes;a picker head having two or more gripping fingers extending vertically downward in the refrigerated lower compartment, said pair of gripping fingers being able to grip and lift a single tube from a receptacle in a tube storage rack located on the picker plate in the refrigerated lower compartment;a presenter push pin located in the refrigerated lower compartment below the picker plate and aligned vertically with the pair of gripping fingers so that sufficient upward vertical movement of the presenter push pin pushes on a bottom of a storage tube held in a tube receptacle in a tube rack on the picker plate to facilitate lifting of the storage tube from the receptacle in the tube rack by the gripping fingers on the picker head;a first motorized drive mechanism for opening and closing the gripping fingers located in the warmer, upper compartment at least when the gripping fingers are not in use;a second motorized drive mechanism for lifting and lowering the gripping fingers located in the warmer, upper compartment at least when the gripping fingers are not in use; anda third motorized drive mechanism for lifting and lowering the presenter push pin located in the warmer, upper compartment at least when not in use. 2. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 1 the third motorized drive mechanism for lifting and lowering the presenter push pin is permanently located in the warmer, upper compartment. 3. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 1 wherein the refrigerated chamber comprises refrigeration coils placed around the sidewalls, and the sidewalls of the refrigerated chamber, the refrigeration coils, and a bottom wall of the refrigerated chamber are encased with insulation. 4. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 1 wherein the tube picking mechanism is located within an environment cooled to about −20° C. to about −30° C., and the tube picking mechanism further comprises a local compressor cooling unit that dissipates waste heat of refrigeration for the refrigerated lower compartment into the about −20° C. to about −30° C. environment. 5. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 1 further comprising a refrigeration unit comprising at least one of a Peltier cooler, and a vortex cooler. 6. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 1 further comprising a vapor barrier enclosing the upper compartment. 7. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 1 further comprising a door located between the upper compartment and the lower compartment in that provides access into the refrigerated chamber order to allow robotic placement of tube racks from outside of the tube picking mechanism into the refrigerated lower compartment and to allow robotic retrieval of tube racks from within the refrigerated lower compartment to outside of the tube picking mechanism. 8. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 1 further comprising a picker plate drive mechanism in the warmer, upper compartment for moving the picker plate in the lower compartment. 9. A tube picking mechanism comprising: a refrigerated chamber containing a lower compartment refrigerated to a temperature of between −50° C. and −196° C. when the tube picking mechanism is in operation;an upper compartment having a temperature warmer than the temperature of the lower compartment when the tube picking mechanism is in operation, a bottom portion of the upper compartment being adjacent to a top portion of the lower compartment;a picker plate located in the refrigerated lower compartment for holding at least one tube storage rack containing sample storage tubes, wherein the picker plate is a rotary picker plate having at least two nesting locations for holding a tube storage rack and the tube picking mechanism further comprises a rotary drive that rotates the rotary picker plate to position the at least two nesting locations within the refrigerated, lower compartment;a picker head having two or more gripping fingers extending vertically downward in the refrigerated lower compartment, said pair of gripping fingers being able to grip and lift a single tube from a receptacle in a tube storage rack located on the picker plate in the refrigerated lower compartment; a first motorized drive mechanism for opening and closing the gripping fingers located in the warmer, upper compartment at least when the gripping fingers are not in use; anda second motorized drive mechanism for lifting and lowering the gripping fingers located in the warmer, upper compartment at least when the gripping fingers are not in use. 10. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 9 further comprising: a presenter pushpin located in the refrigerated lower compartment below the picker plate and aligned vertically with the pair of gripping fingers so that sufficient upward vertical movement of the presenter pushpin pushes on a bottom of a storage tube held in a tube receptacle in a tube rack on the picker plate to facilitate lifting of the storage tube from the receptacle in the tube rack by the gripping fingers on the picker head; anda third motorized drive mechanism for lifting and lower the presenter pushpin, the third motorized drive mechanism being located in the warmer, upper compartment at least when not in use;wherein each nesting location for holding a tube storage rack on the rotary picker plate includes an opening to provide access for the presenter pin to each potential tube location in a tube storage rack placed on the rotary picker plate. 11. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 9 further comprising a biasing corner reference mechanism associated with each nesting location on the rotary picker plate for applying biasing pressure to a tube storage rack located in the respective nesting location and position the tube storage rack in a predetermined reference position within the respective nesting location on the rotary picker plate. 12. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 11 further comprising a motorized release mechanism that mechanically releases the biasing corner reference mechanism from a tube storage place located in the respective nesting location on the rotary picker plate, wherein a motorized drive mechanism for the motorized release mechanism is located in the warmer, upper compartment. 13. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 10 further comprising a rack clamp for holding a tube storage rack on the picker plate when picking a tube from the storage rack, the rack clamp comprising a pair of independently positionable clamping feet which in use are positioned in predetermined clamping locations in a substantially horizontal plane, wherein the predetermined clamping locations are preselected for the type of storage rack in a respective nesting location on the picker plate. 14. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 13 wherein each clamping foot is attached to a downwardly extending leg and the rack clamp further comprises independent X-axis and Y-axis clamp drive mechanism for each leg and clamping foot and the X-axis and Y-axis clamp drive mechanisms are located in the upper, warmer compartment. 15. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 14 further comprising a Z-axis clamp drive mechanism that lifts and lowers the clamping feet and legs in unison, the Z-axis clamp drive being located in the upper, warmer compartment. 16. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 13 further comprising computer memory in which is stored predetermined clamping locations for multiple types of storage racks. 17. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 1 further comprising a picking head drive mechanism in the warmer, upper compartment for moving the picker head in the refrigerated lower compartment. 18. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 1 wherein the picker plate contains at least two locations for holding a tube storage rack, and each said location includes an opening to provide access for the presenter push pin to each potential tube location for a tube storage rack on the picker plate. 19. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 10 wherein the picker head further comprises a clamp rod for holding down a tube storage rack on the picker plate, said clamp rod being movable vertically and also capable of being placed at a location circumferentially spaced from the gripping fingers. 20. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 1 wherein the gripping fingers comprise a pair of generally parallel gripping fingers that extend vertically downward from the warmer, upper compartment. 21. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 1 wherein each gripping finger includes a gripping jaw that extends inward from the bottom of the respective gripping finger, the gripping jaws intermeshing with each other when fully closed in order to accommodate storage tubes with different diameters. 22. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 1 wherein the picker head further comprises a shucking mechanism having a shucking piston located between the gripping fingers, the shucking piston being movable vertically by a motor located in the upper compartment. 23. A tube picking mechanism as recited in claim 1 wherein a physical partition spans across at least a portion of the space between the upper compartment and the lower compartment.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (31)
Boje John F. ; Brown Samuel R. ; Markin Rodney S., Automated laboratory specimen organizer and storage unit.
Cloutier, Robert P.; Warhurst, Julian; Zandi, Behrouz; O'Toole, James; Solberg, Halvard, Automated storage and retrieval system for storing biological or chemical samples at ultra-low temperatures.
Howard, Raymond T.; Warhurst, Julian; Zandi, Behrouz; Carman, Michael A.; O'Toole, James, Tube picking mechanism for an automated, ultra-low temperature storage and retrieval system.
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